The 5 best Windows 10 firewalls

A firewall is a software that helps your system to monitor your online activity and prevent intrusions and attacks. Finding a suitable firewall for your needs can sometimes be a burden because there are many such products available on the market.

Users often test several programs until they find the firewall that satisfies their demands. To avoid this long and annoying process, we provide you with a list of the best firewalls you can install on your Windows 10 computer for free.

Here are the best firewalls for Windows 10

Emsisoft Anti-Malware (recommended)

This Firewall has a reliable scanning system with an outstanding HIPS level. Its main feature is called “Run safer” which allows you to set different restrictions to any process, including web browsers, readers, email, multimedia software, download managers and many more.

The number of pop-ups can be reduced thanks to the automatic safe program list. Every time you label a program as safe, every similar program also receives the same label.

No decision will be taken without your consent. Immediately after installation, this firewall perform a scan to index all software packages installed on your computer and will establish restrictions according to its built-in software list. These restrictions can be changed at any time, and if one of the programs you installed is not on the list, a pop-up will prompt you to label the program as safe or unsafe.

Also, every time a program tries to connect to a web address, you’ll receive a notification that lets you choose if you allow the connection or not. This firewall is completely customizable and useful for any environment, you can use for at home or at work.

ZoneAlarm

ZoneAlarm is a well-known firewall, with an easy-to-use interface. Behind the user friendly interface, there’s a plethora of features that can meet the requirements of even the most demanding users. You can fully customize the security settings, and adapt them to your needs.

After you install ZoneAlarm, you need to check it from time to time to make sure that the applications that request internet access to run are not influenced by the firewall‘s filters. The pop-ups ZoneAlarm displays are really simple, offering you 3 options when something goes wrong: Accept, Deny or Postpone, allowing you to be reminded later about your decision.

Medium – at this security level, the software starts asking you for permission to access various Internet segments. This level is suitable for home networks with more than one system connected.

High – this mode is not available in the free version of the software. It supports the Smart Defense Advisor that help you to reduce pop-ups by configuring the app access based on the decisions made by other users. It is suitable for use in public Wi-Fi areas.

The Internet segments of this software are divided into two categories: the Trusted Zone, commonly used for local networks, and the Internet Zone. Of course, you can adjust the security level for each area.

TinyWall

TinyWall is a very simple application that works with the built-in firewall. It doesn’t have any annoying pop-ups and the installation package is very small (a little more than 1 MB). The installation process is very simple and fast and once installed, TinyWall runs automatically in the background.

You can control this software through the tray icon, which opens a small menu with basic features, such as changing the operating mode, adding exceptions for applications, indexing the network activity and many more. From that menu you can manage the General settings, including the password protection of the tool. TinyWall also offers a scanning feature that detects the unknown applications and restricts them.

The Advanced settings tab allows users to configure this software according to their needs, but we recommend you to keep the pre-set settings if you are a beginner. The Maintenance tab allows users to import and export settings, check for updates manually and visit the official TinyWall website.

TinyWall is an easy-to-use security software that doesn’t affect system performance. You can download TinyWall for free from the tool’s official website.

Comodo Firewall

Comodo Firewall is a proactive firewall with strong HIPS protection, the perfect solution for users looking for a strong, extra layer of security. The latest version of this program is suitable for all users, advanced and beginners users as well.

Comodo has a “memory firewall” feature that prevents the overflow attacks by limiting access of unknown applications and scanning the newly installed software packages. This feature keeps a list with safe applications and whenever a new application attempts to join that list, the firewall thoroughly analyzes it. If it is labeled as unsafe, Comodo quickly informs you about it.

Three security levels are available: Firewall Only, Firewall Optimum and Maximum Proactive Defense. Once installed, Comodo automatically enters safe mode and generates a pop-up for every application labelled as suspicious. You can see the list of trusted vendors by clicking Defense+ tab / Common tasks / View my trusted Software Vendors.

To avoid the large number of pop-ups, Comodo has a feature called Clean PC Mode, which marks all the files of your system as safe. This needs some attention, because if you have any malware hidden in your system, it will be marked as safe too. Make sure that your PC is clean before using this feature.

Outpost Firewall

This firewall improves your system’s security level without affecting its performance. The interface is simple and intuitive. You can set restrictions for the programs you install on your computer and customize the security level.

Outpost has a self-learning algorithm which stores your answers to the pop-ups. When you install a new program, the Firewall compares it to the programs previously installed. If it detects similarities between the programs, it will attribute the same restrictions. If not, you will be asked to take a look at the new program.

Outpost Firewall has 4 security levels that are fully customizable. The default “Optimal” setting is monitoring only the most dangerous activities, such as memory injections, shell extensions, internet settings and more. You can customize the levels by clicking on the Settings button / Host Protection / Customize.

This Firewall offers a very intuitive security system. The only drawback of the free version is the large number of advertisements, but this is something insignificant compared to the extra security level it adds to your system.